Hi was wondering if anyone would be able to offer me any advice/tips to help me quit drinking alcohol altogether!
I was attending trauma therapy early last year and have been in recovery ever since but now feeling a lot more mentally prepared of wanting to quit alcohol altogether.
I gave up smoking cannibis around 5 months ago and haven’t looked back but struggling to get over this last hurdle of finally giving up the alcohol.
I have been doing all the things that my therapist suggested and been incorperating more healthy ways of coping into my routine and trying to maintain a more healthy balanced lifestyle and have managed to cut down a fair lot to compared to what I was drinking, but just feel that I need a bit of extra support in making sure that I stick to it as I seem to get so far and then my brain tricks itself into saying I will just have the one, but i’m sure most of you know how that story goes
I have made a lot of progress considering where I was a few years ago due to the trauma and where I couldn’t even sit still nevermind relax! I was also diagnosed with having agoraphobia during my therapy sessions and on the waiting list to speak to another counsellor, but atm feel that my main issues and why I end up drinking is due to boredom and being stuck in my house all the time.
I have also requested to have a keyworker from the alcohol and drug addiction service, a support worker and been in touch with the mental health charity Mind.
I anyone has any advice they can give me or be willing to act as a peer whilst I try to get through these next few weeks I would really appreciate it as I have just opted to give up my bank cards to my ex neighbour to try deter me from drinking so any support I can get from people who have also been through it and knows what it’s like would be much appreciated.
Welcome! This forum and AA have helped me tremendously. I find reading a lot on here helps. Use the magnify glass at the top to search through topics and I’m sure you’ll find a lot of great advice. Stay connected and continue to interact with all of us.
Welcome! Sounds like you are doing a great job advocating for yourself and setting yourself up for success! @Lisa07 has a great suggestion to use the search key to look for topics of interest. This particular thread below is one I like to share with members, it has lots of info you may find helpful…
Welcome Milly.
This place has given me the support I’ve needed to stay sober. I did have lots of tools that I learned from my 2 wonderful children that put us through the hell of addiction a quite few years back. I learned a lot of those tools at their rehabs and family weeks and 12 step meetings and guest speakers. All good stuff. Oh and my Alanon groups.
My favorite threads on here are
Lots of great people on here just trying not to take that one drink. That first one! The only one that matters.
“I’m not drinking today! And I’m probably not drinking tomorrow.”
Hope to see you around.
Your worth it
Welcome and congratulations for making it as far as you have! If you want to chat send me a message! I’m a month Into sobriety from alcohol myself after trying to stop several times the past 10 years or so. I’d recommend the book Quit Like a Woman. It changed my perspective on alcohol completely.
I wholeheartedly second this recommendation for Quit Like A Woman!!! It really hit home for me. I have read many books on sobriety/recovery and sobriety memoirs and QLAW resonated deeply for me.
I just started reading that book myself! It’s an interesting and helpful way to look at alcohol for what it is, not what it is shown to be.
The point I found most intriguing so far is that we are constantly told that we are supposed to enjoy drinking. It’s fun, relaxing, social, whatever you want it to be.
But then when this highly addictive poison takes another person in its grip- it’s the person that is perceived to be the problem, not the addictive nature of the alcohol…
Anyway, I’m digging it
I have learned 2 things about myself and why i used alchohol and drugs. The 1st is that the substance is only a symptom of my disease. By that i mean that i was using chemicals to change the way i feel because i either didn’t want to feel the emotions i was goin through or i just didnt want to feel anything at all and numbed myself from everything and everybody. 2 is that i hated the person i was and couldnt even look at myself in the mirror.
So, this is a couple of things i have changed to combat those feelings and thoughts. I found a couple of new coping skills i can do when i start gettin in my own head, like coloring. Who would of thought a 42 yr old man would like to color to help me stay sober, lol. I also learned to reach out when i get overwhelmed, but more importantly; its ok to be overwhelmed at times, and not hit the panic button, or worse the f-it button!! 1 more thing… i know that if i do just 1 thing today that everythings be ok, and that 1 thing is dont pick up that 1st one!! I hope any of that might help, and just know your not alone in this fight!!
